Gallery of the Masters Fine Art Gallery

François Boucher

1703-1770 France-Rococo

Brief Biography-François Boucher was born in Paris. Nicolas his father was a painter and sold prints, illustrations and artist's materials in his shop in the Rue de la Verrerie where he nurtured his son's talent for painting at an early age. When he was seventeen he began studying in the studio of the renowned artist François Lemoyne. The style of Lemoyne's paintings was a more decorative style of Baroque which inspired Boucher to develop the Rococo style. He quickly found work with the engraver Jean Francois Cars and came to the attention of Jean Antoine Watteau who hired him to do engravings of his drawings. In 1727, he went to Italy with Carle van Loo on an educational tour which he later stated was more out of curiosity than of interest in Italy. When he returned to Paris he gained admittance to the Academy by the year 1733, and in that year he married Marie-Jeanne Buseau. His wife was to become his model for characters in numerous paintings. In 1735, he had his first royal commission and was working for a tapestry factory led by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. By this time, he was inundated with royal commissions and Madame de Pompadour kept him busy with a variety of tasks from painting her bedroom to doing a panel in her chapel. In 1752 he had his own studio in the Louvre where he had assistants such as Jean-Honore Fragonard and later the renowned Jacques-Louis David for a brief period. In later years, he took over the positions of Kings Painter and Directorship of the Academy. In the late 1760s, he travelled to Holland whilst in a weak condition which led to his demise in 1770.